Department of the Environment and Local Government
Statement of Strategy
1998-2001
(Pn 5451)
© Government of Ireland 1998
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Foreword
An Action Programme for the Millennium set out a challenging agenda for my
Department across its very wide range of responsibilities. This agenda includes
the restoration of real decision-making and power to local authorities and local
people, the development and implementation of an integrated environment
policy, the updating of the planning process and the support of continued
economic and social progress in a manner that respects the principle of
sustainable development.
This agenda is all the more challenging because of the backdrop against which it
is set. Social advance combined with unprecedented economic growth is
fundamentally changing the context within which the Department works. This
process presents new opportunities and advantages - but it also presents new
threats and constraints. Most significantly, the wide range of tasks set for the
Department, and the accelerating pace at which these are developing and
changing, makes it imperative that there is a clear focus on the key goals, the
means by which these are to be achieved and the measures against which
performance is to be assessed.
This Statement of Strategy provides that focus. Prepared in consultation with all
of the staff, it is the Department’s response to the agenda set in An Action
Programme for the Millennium and in the Government’s detailed policies for the
various sectors concerned. I believe that it maps out the necessary steps to
ensure that the Department remains relevant and efficient in the discharge of its
business and that the services for which it is responsible are effective in
addressing the needs of the customer and the economy into the twenty first
century.
Noel Dempsey TD
Minister for the Environment and Local Government
April 1998
CONTENTS
Foreward by Minister
3
Preface
5
PART ONE : INTRODUCTION
Mandate
7
Mission Statement
9
Underlying Goals
10
PART TWO : ANALYSIS
Internal Analysis
13
The Wider Context
16
Our Inter-Relationship with Other Departments and Agencies
19
Customer Interests and Needs
21
PART THREE: GOALS AND STRATEGIES
Sectoral Goals and Strategies
23
Internal Change Programme
42
PART FOUR: IMPLEMENTATION
The Business Planning Process
44
Critical Success Factors
46
Our Partner Bodies
47
Monitoring and Review
48
APPENDIX 1: The Process Followed in Preparing the Statement 49
APPENDIX 2: Structure of Department
50
APPENDIX 3: Semi-State Bodies
51
Preface
The 1996 Operational Strategy of the then Department of the Environment was
one of the first strategy statements to be published by a Government
Department, and set out to integrate the sectoral strategic plans to which the
Department was already working into a cohesive blueprint to deliver Government
objectives. It was underpinned within the Department by a business planning
process involving the preparation and ongoing review of work programmes at
Section level.
While it would now be time in any case to review and update the Operational
Strategy, a new framework for the strategic planning process has been provided
by the Public Service Management Act, 1997. This requires Statements of
Strategy to be prepared within certain parameters and timeframes. The
Statements of Strategy provide the link between Government policy (with
particular reference to An Action Programme for the Millennium and the
provisions of Partnership 2000) and the implementation of that policy by
articulating the required Departmental outputs, the means by which they will be
achieved, the resources to be used to this end and the measures by which
progress will be assessed.
The purpose of this Statement is therefore to set out clearly the Department's key
goals, the strategies to achieve them, and the indicators of output and outcome
against which our performance can be measured. While the timeframe of the
Statement is the three year period 1998-2001, many of our goals and strategies
have a longer time horizon than this. In such cases, performance must be
measured in terms of the progress made within that three year period.
The Statement has been developed by means of a participative process involving
the management and staff of the Department, which is described in Appendix 1.
As a result, it should be a shared blueprint for the work of the next three years.
PART ONE
Introduction



Mandate
Mission Statement
Underlying Goals
Mandate
The activities of the Department of the Environment and Local Government 1
touch every citizen of the State. They affect everyone’s life in many ways, from
the quality of the environment in which we live to the housing, roads, water and
other services of which we avail. The Department’s annual spending at present
exceeds £1 billion; over £900 million of this is capital expenditure on investment
in vital areas of economic and social infrastructure, amounting to almost half of
the entire Exchequer-financed Public Capital Programme.
The Department's new title underlines its core responsibilities for the environment
and for local government. There is a need to protect, enhance and develop the
physical environment and in parallel to promote local democratic responsibility
and discussion - these basic concerns link most of the detailed programmes and
activities of the Department and its partner bodies.
About 90% of the Department's spending is channelled ultimately through local
authorities. Thus we depend critically on local authorities for the achievement of
most of our objectives and for the final delivery of vital services to all citizens. For
this reason, and also because of the inherent democratic values involved, it is a
major priority for the Department to support and develop local government better
to carry its responsibilities - in political, management and financial terms.
We are the lead Department in relation to the environment, although good
arrangements for the environment and sustainable development also depend
crucially on the policies and activities of many other Departments and agencies.
There is a strong public and international expectation that economic and social
development and environmental protection should be managed in a balanced
way. The public looks to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government
and the Department to uphold the environmental dimension and to see that it is
taken on board by the wider governmental system.
The Department is heavily involved in supporting economic and social
development through the roads, water, housing and urban renewal programmes.
Most of these have been major beneficiaries of EU co-financing (taking up in
aggregate some 25% of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds) and are providing
good economic and/or environmental returns on the investment involved.
But good management of the physical environment is increasingly understood to
mean doing more with less. That is why water leakage control, housing
conservation, traffic restraint and various demand management policies are now
being strongly promoted as well as new construction programmes.
The Department is faced too with a number of negative consequences of the
present strong economic performance: urban traffic congestion, rapidly rising
house prices, growing waste production, environmental degradation and social
exclusion. Some of these issues again underline the need for sustainable
development.
This Strategy Statement seeks to position the Department of the Environment
and Local Government better to respond to these many challenges by setting
clear and focused directions for our policies and objectives and for the use of our
resources to achieve them. This process will first assist those who carry the
major responsibility for the success of the Department's business - the people
working in the Department whose continued commitment is crucial to
implementing this Strategy and maintaining an open, courteous and flexible
organisation.
The Department depends for the delivery of its business on local authorities, on
several specialist partner bodies (for example, the Environmental Protection
Agency and the National Roads Authority) 2 and on co-operation with a number
of Government Departments in areas of common concern. We will have full
regard to these important relationships in taking forward the Strategic
Management Initiative process. To achieve its objectives, the Department must
also form good working arrangements with the voluntary and commercial sectors
and build up wide public support. Better ways of working with voluntary and
commercial bodies have already been developed, for example in relation to
housing, recycling and community development; this approach is being extended
to the group water sector and its further potential is being explored.
Similarly, good communication with the public is essential if various road safety
and environmental protection objectives are to be supported by citizens in their
daily lives.
It is right that this Statement should acknowledge some inherent tensions in the
wide mandate assigned to the Department of the Environment and Local
Government: the tension between environmental protection and development,
between our roles as sponsor, regulator and client of the construction industry
and between road transport and sustainable development. It is a challenge to the
Department's organisation to manage those difficult interfaces transparently and
without compromise to the objectivity which is demanded of us.
The Strategy Statement is intended to promote wide ownership of the
Department's objectives. While naturally reflecting present circumstances, it also
commits the Department to a policy of continuous improvement and excellence
of performance for the benefit of all of our customers.
1
The structure of the Department, which is set out at Appendix 2, gives an indication of the wide
range of our responsibilities.
2 The semi-state bodies which operate under the aegis of the Department are listed in Appendix
3.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of the Environment and Local Government is to
ensure in partnership with a strengthened local government system and with its
specialised agencies that Ireland has a high quality environment where
infrastructure and amenities meet economic, social and environmental needs and
where development is properly planned and sustainable.
Underlying Goals



Because the Department's responsibilities are so wide-ranging, it is useful
to distinguish between two levels of goal. The sectoral goals, which are
detailed in Part Three, reflect the broad areas of involvement and provide
a basis for the more detailed work programmes within the Divisions.
However, there are common threads which run through most of the
Department's work, and we can best reflect these by elaborating on our
mission statement to derive three underlying goals.
These are not specific to one sector or to one Division of the Department;
each of the underlying goals relates to the individual goals and strategies
of a number of Divisions, as explained below. Equally, many of the
sectoral goals and strategies are relevant to more than one of the
underlying goals; in general, the work of all Divisions relates in different
ways to all three.
These underlying goals represent core values of the Department which
underpin the sectoral goals.
Promoting Sustainable Development
An Action Programme for the Millennium undertakes that concern for the
environment
will be central to all policy decisions. Sustainable development is commonly
defined as development that meets the needs of the present generation without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It aims at
improving the quality of life, in economic and social terms, while conserving the
natural resources upon which development ultimately depends. Consequently, it
has implications for policies throughout the Department and in a wide range of
sectors for which other Departments or agencies have responsibility.
UNDERLYING GOAL The Department will ensure that the concept of sustainable
development is reflected in the formulation and implementation of its policies
impacting on the natural or built environment and will promote the adoption of a
similar approach by other Departments and agencies in the public and private
sectors.
Strengthening Local Government
An Action Programme for the Millennium includes a commitment to the
restoration of real decision-making and power to local authorities and local
people, as well as the enhancement of efficiency and customer service in local
government. While these commitments bear directly on the Department's work
on reorganising the structures and finances of local government, they are also
relevant to the delivery of its various sectoral programmes. The bulk of the
Department's spending is channelled through local authorities and most of the
policies for which it is responsible are ultimately implemented by local authorities.
UNDERLYING GOAL In developing and implementing its policies, the
Department will support and develop the capacity of local government to deliver
a comprehensive range of quality services and will seek to enhance and
strengthen the local democratic system.
Supporting Economic and Social Progress Through
Infrastructural and Protective Services
The overall thrust of An Action Programme for the Millennium is to build on our
economic progress so that sustained economic growth will maximise the longterm potential for employment, social inclusion and improved living standards.
Much of the Department's work is directly concerned with ensuring the
development of the supporting framework, in areas such as roads, housing,
water and waste services, the construction industry and urban and rural planning.
The Department also has an important role, through regulation and service
provision, in protecting the public by tackling risk factors which affect their
economic and social welfare, for example in relation to road safety and fire
safety.
UNDERLYING GOAL Through its role in areas such as infrastructure, service
provision and the regulatory process, and in the perspective of sustainable
development, the Department will seek to optimise its contribution to economic
and social progress.
PART TWO
Analysis





Internal Analysis
The Wider Context
Our Inter-Relationship with Other
Departments and Agencies
Customer Interests and Needs
Internal Analysis
To plan appropriately ambitious but achievable goals and strategies the
Department must realistically appraise its current position. We begin by
examining our own strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to
improve our capability to achieve our goals.
Our greatest internal strength lies in the ability and commitment of our staff but
we must also recognise the extent to which their capacity is being stretched. The
present staffing level of around 800 has been largely unchanged in the past five
years due to the general restrictions on civil service numbers and is considerably
below the figure of 1,100 in the early nineteen-eighties. While some functions
have been devolved to new agencies in that period, many others have been
added. The responsibilities and activities of the Department continue to grow
and, within the existing areas of work, deadlines are becoming more demanding
as political and customer expectations increase. The widespread commitment to
work and the high level of expertise displayed by our staff have enabled the
Department generally to cope with the pressures notwithstanding these
constraints.
The capacity to absorb increased responsibilities and work pressures is not, of
course, unlimited and one of the important aspects of the strategic management
process is to ensure that resources are concentrated on those activities which
contribute most to the achievement of the agreed goals. As the general
restrictions on numbers are likely to remain in place, the achievement of the
goals in this Statement will present a major challenge and will be made even
more difficult by the emergence of new tasks and demands which are
unanticipated at this stage. This means that, to a greater extent than in the past,
there will have to be ongoing redeployment of staff, budgets and support services
to priority areas with the inevitable consequence that goals judged to be of lower
priority will not be achieved. There is therefore an onus on management at
Section level and on the Management Advisory Committee, in consultation with
the Minister, to keep its priorities under review and to ensure that the maximum
benefit is derived from supports to the staff, such as technology and external
inputs. We examine in Part Four how these requirements will be put into practice
through the Department's business planning process.
The limited availability of promotion opportunities is a potential weakness.
Promotion has been the traditional system of reward and recognition in the civil
service. The age structure resulting from previous recruitment and promotion
patterns, combined with the present-day restrictions on growth in numbers,
means that promotional outlets may not meet the expectations of many staff
whose ability and performance would undoubtedly qualify them for advancement.
This has the potential to affect morale and motivation, particularly when work
pressures continue to increase. It poses a challenge for the management of the
civil service as a whole, which is being addressed within the Strategic
Management Initiative process, but it also puts an onus on the management of
the Department to pay particular attention to the need to maintain and improve
the morale and motivation of its staff. This will be an important aspect of the
human resources management strategy which is to be developed as part of our
internal change programme.
The Department's responsibilities fall fairly readily into a number of distinct
sectors, as set out in Part Three, and the organisational structure has been
revised in recent years to follow this as logically as possible (see Appendix 2). At
present it is considered to be suited to the management of the work but this will
be kept under review. There is a wide mix of professional competencies and
disciplines - team development between the administrative and
professional/technical streams within each Division in recent years has been
beneficial and this will be built on further.
The disadvantage of the organisational structure, however, is the potential for
isolation or polarisation of the staff along Divisional lines and this may be of
particular concern where the Department needs to strike the right balance
between the conflicting requirements of different sectors. One way to address
this is to operate an effective mobility policy within
the Department so that staff have the opportunity to gain wide experience and to
bring the perspectives gained in one area to bear on their subsequent work in
another. We will increase the emphasis on this aspect of our policies on the
placement of staff. We also recognise that the Department needs to improve its
mechanisms for cross-Divisional interchange and debate. In general, the
Management Advisory Committee has been the only regular mechanism to that
end. However, the preparation of this Statement benefited greatly from crossDivisional inter-disciplinary workshops. We now propose to consider how this
approach can be used on a more regular basis as a means of increasing the
awareness and understanding of each Division's concerns and as a channel for
input on issues of concern to the organisation as a whole.
The Department's physical location presents some problems. The location of
about 200 staff in Ballina and Shannon has made a significant contribution to the
Government's decentralisation policy and has facilitated staff whose preference
was to live and work in those regions. The effects have therefore been largely
beneficial, but time has shown that there are disadvantages also for both the
management and the staff. Firstly, management has considerably less flexibility
in relation to the deployment of staff and this can hinder the necessary responses
to changing work pressures. Secondly, there is some frustration because
promotion opportunities tend to be more restricted in the decentralised locations
and staff are often not in a position to accept offers of promotion elsewhere. This
problem is common to other decentralised Departments and is being examined
at a civil service-wide level. A third disadvantage is that there is some sense of
isolation among the decentralised staff and a consequent difficulty in identifying
fully with the Department and its overall concerns. We propose to address this by
improving the flow of regular information on the Department's activities to staff as
a whole and by seeking where possible to involve staff from different locations
together in training courses and workshops as they arise.
The Department's information and communication technology systems are
far from adequate and need substantial redevelopment and resourcing. The
distribution of office information systems capable of supporting modern office
environments is uneven while the major systems in the Department, with the
exception of the National Vehicle and Driver File, are now quite dated and prone
to failure, particularly in the case of the housing grants system.
A major consultancy study is underway to identify the necessary improvements
and to form a basis for the redesign of existing systems and the development of
new systems to support the Department's objectives and improve its services to
its clients. A particular emphasis will be placed on the flow and exchange of data
between the Department, the local authorities and other relevant agencies. This
study is expected to be complete in the late summer of 1998. The Department is
committed to providing resources and training for the development and
maintenance of the technology systems needed to give full support to staff in the
effective implementation of its strategies. This development work will also take
account of the priority being given by the Government to maximising the potential
of information and communications technology in the delivery of customerfocused public services in the context of an Information Society, so that business
and the public will be able to deal effectively with the Department in an electronic
manner.
The Department has a very extensive legislative foundation for its activities.
We have traditionally had a heavy involvement with the Oireachtas and have
played a major role in its legislative programme. This in part reflected the nature
and extent of our business and also in part a reliance on legislation to ensure
certainty and consistency. It has also assisted us in meeting our commitments
arising from EU and other international obligations. We have been engaged for
some time in the modernisation and consolidation of our legal framework and will
therefore be well positioned for the process of regulatory reform which will form
one of the next stages of the civil service-wide implementation of the Strategic
Management Initiative.
While this framework is, in general, a considerable advantage, we are conscious
also that it must be complemented by mechanisms for engaging wider
participation in and support for initiatives. For example, it is possible to move
forward by consensus amongst a range of partners on agreed strategies, as has
been done in relation to EU Operational Programmes and in relation to
Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland.
The Department is recognised as having a very good record in the development
and publication of policy documents, statistics and other information in its
various areas of responsibility. As well as providing a framework for the
implementation of the policies and a basis for assessing progress, these are
valuable in promoting public awareness, understanding and acceptance of the
policies. The Department's environmental information service ENFO also plays a
significant role in increasing environmental awareness. Recently, the Internet has
given us a further means of increasing public access and awareness - there has
been an ENFO website 3 for some time and the Department has now established
a general site 4 also.
Finally, we must recognise that any Department whose focus is primarily on
policy formulation and programme development can be somewhat buffered from
the day-to-day concerns of those affected by its services and of those who
deliver them. We recognise the need to pay particular attention to improving our
linkages with the local authorities and other relevant agencies, and to identifying
and addressing the needs of our customers, defined in the broadest sense. We
address these issues later in Part Two.
3
4
www.enfo.ie
www.environ.ie
The Wider Context
External developments, whether economic, political or social, have a critical
influence on the implementation of the Department's strategies and the
achievement of our objectives. They may offer opportunities to be exploited or
threats to be addressed. They also give rise to conflicting demands, resulting in
policy objectives which act as constraints on each other and require an
appropriate balance to be found.
The consequences of the rapid rate of economic growth, along with the
associated employment growth and a growing population, have all of the above
characteristics. Our Gross National Product will, by the end of this year, have
grown by over 50% in real terms since the start of the decade, and is expected to
continue to grow strongly in the short to medium term. This is expected to be
matched by employment growth of 120,000 in the three years from 1998 to 2000,
on top of employment growth of 200,000 since 1990. The growth in the economy
and increased wealth create opportunities for new approaches to programme
and service provision and particularly for new financing mechanisms. However,
the increased level of economic activity places direct demands on upgrading and
expanding public infrastructure including roads, housing and water services and
also puts pressure on the planning system. Particular pressures are evident in
roads, where traffic volumes have increased by about 50% since 1990, and in
the housing market where, notwithstanding record new house completions over
the past three years, house prices have continued to rise rapidly. Responding to
these pressures will be a major task for the Department. In addition, the move
towards European Monetary Union has particular implications for the housing
market.
The responses to these pressures must be formulated in the context of
sustainable development. The overall aim of Sustainable Development: A
Strategy for Ireland, published in 1997, is "to ensure that economy and society in
Ireland can develop to their full potential within a well protected environment,
without compromising the quality of that environment, and with responsibility
towards present and future generations and the wider international community". It
is a central concern of the Department that economic growth and social
development should not be to the detriment of environmental quality. While
environmental impacts cannot be completely eliminated, they can be minimised
by pursuing policies which promote economic efficiency with less intensive
resource use and less environmental stress.
Sustainable development embodies the concept of balance between
environment and development. In promoting and implementing sustainable
development policies, the Department must reconcile the need for more effective
environmental protection with the requirements of competitiveness and
employment generation. These considerations are relevant both at the national
level and in the increasingly globalised economy in which Ireland must compete.
While concerns about the trade-offs involved for economic sectors can be
addressed, for example, in terms of efficiency gains, incentives to innovate,
guarantees of product quality and acceptability for export, the Department will
continue to place emphasis on instruments which achieve environmental
objectives at least cost, and on mechanisms which ensure participation and
consultation in environment policy choices.
The need for a balanced response to conflicting pressures also arises in areas
such as land use planning, particularly at a time of heavy demand for new
housing, and in road transport, where infrastructural development must be
accompanied by traffic management policies if the problem of growing
congestion is to be addressed.
The public infrastructure programmes under the Department's remit are the
largest capital programmes in the State and most of these are heavily dependent
on EU funding. Notwithstanding relatively recent advances, there are still major
deficiencies in Ireland's public and economic infrastructure and further significant
investment must be made to correct this deficit and to meet future needs arising
from a rapidly growing economy and rising population. In this regard, Ireland
lacks the accumulated wealth and capital which sustained economic growth will
deliver in the longer term. The anticipated continued availability of the EU
Structural and Cohesion Funds after 1999 should present opportunities, at least
in the short term, to continue investing at high levels in these programmes.
Having regard to the European Commission's Agenda 2000 proposals, the
Department has assembled the strongest possible case to support a continuation
of EU funding on the basis of existing infrastructural deficits. Emerging EU policy
regarding cost recovery for use of infrastructure may also have implications for
the financing of our programmes.
Exchequer capital support for the Department's programmes is likely to be
constrained in the years ahead because of budgetary discipline in the context of
EMU. As a result, greater effectiveness in expenditure and new financing models
will have to be developed to enable necessary infrastructural development to be
undertaken, and the Department will be expected to provide a major input into
the development of alternative funding mechanisms.
The creation of the Local Government Fund from 1 January 1999 will place
significant additional resources at the disposal of the local authorities. This
presents an opportunity to underpin the renewal of the local government system
and to orientate it towards the policies outlined in this Statement.
The Department operates in sectors where there is very strong and well-informed
public interest, supported by extensive media coverage and a wide range of
organisations and lobby groups. This is particularly evident in the area of
environmental awareness where there is obvious and increasing public concern
about the impact of human activity on the natural environment. It is also reflected
in the Department's infrastructural development sectors, where there is an
increasing tendency and capacity on the part of individual citizens and lobby
groups to challenge, based on valid personal or sectoral interests, proposals
which are directed at achieving more broadly-based national objectives. The
growth in public scrutiny of our policies and actions is a predominantly positive
development which can greatly support the achievement of our goals. Equally,
the development consent procedures for major capital projects, and the
subsequent implementation of the projects, must be capable of operating
efficiently and in a way that reaches a conclusion within reasonable timescales.
Readily available information is necessary to underpin public participation in
environmental protection and to change environmentally unfriendly behaviour.
The environment sector, particularly through the Department's implementation of
the relevant EU legislation on access to information on the environment, has
been a leader in implementing freedom of information. We have also sought to
promote awareness and good communication through, for example, the
establishment of ENFO as a public environmental information service, our
extensive publication of policy papers and informational material and a wellestablished policy of open access to files on planning applications. Providing
greater opportunities for public input into policy, legislative and programme
formulation is a key objective of our Customer Service Action Plan.
Three developments in 1998 will be of further benefit in increasing public interest,
knowledge and participation in our work. Firstly, the Joint Committee on the
Environment and Local Government has been established and will increase the
extent of Oireachtas examination and debate in the area. Secondly, the
establishment of the National Environment Partnership Forum will facilitate
maximum public participation and consultation in environmental policy. Finally,
the Freedom of Information Act is in effect from 21 April and will further increase
the already substantial access to information on our policies and programmes.
The Department has made extensive preparations to ensure that members of the
public will be assisted to avail of the legislation, that they will also be directed to
the many channels by which we already supply information on our policies,
schemes and services and that all requests will be responded to in a timely
fashion.
Our Inter-Relationship with Other
Departments and Agencies
Delivering Better Government explicitly recognised that there are many issues
which can no longer be resolved from within the functional remit and skill base of
a single Department >or agency. This view reflected an appreciation of the
increasingly multi-faceted nature of many of the problems confronting society and
the public service. An effective response to these situations requires linked, coordinated responses from a number of Departments and agencies.
In the case of this Department, the nature of our responsibilities is such that we
have had long-standing linkages with many other Departments and agencies; we
have depended on their co-operation for the success of many of our activities
and in turn have contributed to the achievement of their respective goals. The
future attainment of the Department's goals requires us to build on these linkages
and to develop new ones with other Departments and agencies, within an overall
framework directed at attaining Government policy objectives. The Department
will have a leading role in some cases and a supporting role in others.
The Government is now, in the context of the Strategic Management Initiative,
placing a major emphasis on the identification of Strategic Results Areas
requiring systematic co-ordination of effort and sharing of expertise. Sustainable
Development: A Strategy for Ireland, in recognition of the need to enhance the
capacity of Government to formulate environmentally sustainable economic and
social development plans, includes a commitment to the designation of
environmental integration as a Strategic Results Area.
In the case of transport infrastructure the Department has acted as the lead
Department together with the Departments of Public Enterprise and the Marine
and Natural Resources under two EU Operational Programmes for transport.
While the detailed sectoral responsibilities of each Department and its agencies
are not diminished, this approach has assisted an integrated approach to
transport infrastructure across all modes. Similarly, in the case of the
environment, the Department established in 1994 a Green Network of
Government Departments and this is to be further developed and upgraded to
strengthen the integration of environmental considerations into the wider process
of policy making.
We have also enlisted the support of all Departments for an environmentallyresponsible approach to using resources in their own work. The "green
housekeeping programme" in operation within our own Department includes the
use of recycled paper for all our needs, the consignment of as many as possible
of our waste streams for recycling and an energy conservation programme which
has already achieved a reduction of 14% in our energy consumption since the
programme began in 1995. This is an indication of what could be achieved by all
Departments; we have published a Green Government Guide and have
established a liaison group to encourage and support good practice in this area.
A number of Government Departments are involved, directly and through
agencies, in local development (e.g. LEADER, micro-enterprise support, Area
Partnerships) and the delivery of various services at a local level. As the local
government renewal process seeks to extend its role in areas such as local
development, one-stop shops and other public services, we propose to work in
partnership with the other relevant Departments to develop these policies.
Much of our work involves the implementation, in the sectors for which we have
responsibility, of policies which apply across the public service. The Department
of Finance has the lead role in relation to human resources and financial policies
for the public sector and for the provision of financial resources, including via
public/private partnerships, to meet the objectives of public policy.
While the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs
co-ordinate overall action on North/South issues, this Department maintains
appropriate linkages in the case of our own policies and programmes. In
particular, road transport links on the island are an important aspect of
North/South co-operation while, similarly, a quality environment is the natural
heritage of the whole of Ireland.
The nature of the relationship between the Department and the local authorities
is central to the effective discharge of our business. They operate under the
legislative and policy framework developed by the Department, but represent a
directly-elected tier of Government and are major enterprises with an annual
turnover of £2.3 billion. Despite the inherent tensions of the central/local
government relationship, the partnership between the Department and the local
authorities has generally been a co-operative one, both at the political and
administrative levels, and has been facilitated by regular contact and meetings,
likewise with Regional Authorities. We propose, as part of the renewal of local
government, to develop new structured consultative arrangements at political and
official levels with local authorities so as to better inform our policy development
and the delivery of those policies at local level.
The Department is also variously involved in policy formulation and programme
direction for the 17 agencies within its remit, which are listed in Appendix 3.
These are generally non-commercial, undertaking quasi-judicial/regulatory,
advisory and developmental functions. While these agencies allow special
attention, expertise and independent management to be devoted to particular
matters, they work within a policy framework developed by the Department and
work in partnership with the Department to achieve stated goals.
At international level the Department participates in EU and United Nations
efforts (through various environmental conventions, the UN Economic
Commission for Europe, the Commission on Sustainable Development and the
United Nations Environment Programme) to combat regional and global
environment problems and to advance sustainable development.
In Part Three of the Statement, in the context of detailing our goals and
strategies, we also outline the key inter-relationships for each sector. Greater coordination of effort focused on a shared commitment to the achievement of each
other's objectives will have to be the principal feature of these relationships in the
future.
Customer Interests and Needs
The Department is responsible for developing and co-ordinating policy and
legislation across a wide range of areas, for promoting infrastructural
programmes, and for directly providing a number of services to the public,
including housing grants and driver testing. It is at the centre of a complex set of
relationships with the public and with commercial, community and representative
groups. In its different roles, the Department is sometimes service provider,
regulator, client, promoter or independent adjudicator, and must meet its
responsibilities to all its customers across this diverse range.
Engaging and communicating with its customers is not a new task for the
Department. Considerable effort has been devoted to producing and
disseminating information on the Department's programmes and policy areas,
preparing and circulating statistical and other reports on major areas of activity
such as housing, planning and the environment, engaging in consultative
processes and producing guidance and advisory leaflets for services provided
directly by the Department. Our interaction with our customers is reflected in an
estimated three-quarters of a million incoming phone calls and letters each year.
Those areas where the Department directly provides services to the public have
had significant growth in activity in recent years. We maintain the National
Vehicle and Driver File which contains the details of registered ownership for well
over 1 million vehicles and over 1.5 million licensed drivers, we receive over
100,000 applications for driver tests annually (up 25% since 1993) and we
process over 10,000 new house grants a year (doubled since 1993) involving the
payment of £32 million. In our Customer Service Action Plan we have set target
standards for our dealings with the public and the provision of each of the
services for which we are responsible. Reaching these standards, such as the
reduction in the average waiting period for driving tests from twenty-six to ten
weeks, will require a major effort on our part but we are committed to their
attainment over a two year implementation period.
There is considerable interest on the part of sectoral and other representative
groups and non-governmental organisations in the policies and programmes
developed and overseen by the Department. These groups include construction
industry interests, professional bodies, financial institutions, local government
organisations, transport and community and environment/conservation groups.
This diversity of interests reflects the economic significance of these programmes
in their own right, their impact on economic and social development and the
significance of a number of policy areas under the Department's remit in
influencing the quality of life enjoyed by individuals and communities. We are
committed to creating opportunities for input to the policy formulation process
and in recent years we have hosted seminars and workshops on major policy
areas such as local government, physical planning, housing and environmental
policy. In addition, mechanisms for structured dialogue with relevant interests
already exist in a number of areas, such as in relation to the construction
industry, and will be strengthened in the environment area with the establishment
of the National Environment Partnership Forum. The Customer Service Action
Plan contains a commitment to build on such existing consultative mechanisms
and to provide for early and sustained consultation with relevant groups in each
of the Department's areas of responsibility.
PART THREE
Goals and Strategies
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Sectoral Goals and Strategies
Internal Change Programme
Sectoral Goals and Strategies
The Department's work relates to nine main sectors. The following pages set out
in each case the policy context, the sectoral goal, the strategies to be followed in
its pursuit and the relevant performance indicators. The key inter-relationships
with other Departments and agencies are also described - in addition to these,
our relationship with the local authorities is also of central importance in each of
the nine sectors.
The concept of applying explicit performance indicators to policy work is a
relatively new one and the identification of meaningful indicators has sometimes
been difficult. This is particularly the case when the time horizon associated with
the policy concerned is a long one. We intend to develop our performance
indicators further over the lifetime of this Statement.
The Department's work in relation to its own corporate services, such as human
resource management, finance, organisation and information and communication
technology is a vital support to the achievement of the sectoral goals and, as
outlined earlier in our internal analysis, considerable updating and improvement
is needed in these areas. The change programme to achieve this is set out at the
end of Part Three.
The relationship between the sectors and the organisational structure of the
Department is as follows:
Sector/s
Departmental Division Responsible
Local Government Divison
Local Government
(The Local Government Audit Service is also a constituent part of the
Department)
Environment
Environment Division
Road Transportation and
Safety
Roads Division
Housing
Housing Division
Planning and Urban
Renewal
Construction Industry
Water Services
Development and Planning Division
Electoral System
Protective and Amenity
Services
Corporate Services Division
(The Division is also responsible for the major support services and for
the Internal Change Programme)
Sector: Local Government
Policy Context
The local government system is the only representative democratic institution
outside the Oireachtas which is elected by universal franchise and which
collectively represents the entire State population. An Action Programme for the
Millennium contains a commitment to the restoration of real decision-making and
power to local authorities and local people. It is a major objective of ours to
enhance the standing of local democracy with its communities and in the general
affairs of the State. This includes allowing those elected to local councils to play
a substantial part in the decision-making processes of their councils with genuine
input to other public services delivered locally. It includes also developing new
ways of engaging sectoral interests and local government's communities in
developing its policies in a spirit of partnership. It involves an integrated approach
to local government and local development as envisaged in Partnership 2000;
and it involves resourcing and equipping the system as a whole to develop its
mandate. The establishment of a Local Government Fund of £590m from 1999 is
a first step in this direction. But it demands in return that local authorities
demonstrate that they spend their money wisely and efficiently.
But the development of a strong, well resourced, imaginative and efficient local
government system is important also from the perspective of the Department's
objectives. Local authorities implement the vast bulk of our programmes. It is
therefore self evident that a better local government system will better implement
our policies and programmes. We propose to develop new and structured
consultative arrangements with local authorities to improve co-operation and
linkages.
SECTORAL GOAL To promote a capable and participative local government system,
which has a strong democratic mandate, proper funding, staffing and modern human
resources policies and which provides a broad range of services, effectively and
efficiently, with a high standard of customer service.
Strategies
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Enhance the democratic mandate and policy role of elected
representatives through new participative and decision making structures.
Strengthen the community base and relevance of local government with
genuine input to other public services delivered locally.
Promote an equitable and adequate funding system.
Promote improved efficiency levels and value for money through modern
accounting and reporting practices and through an effective audit system.
In partnership with the Local Government Management Services Board
and local authorities, develop modern human resource practices with
maximum freedom and discretion for authorities, consistent with national
policy.
Progress the Strategic Management Initiative and a customer service
focus in local authorities.
Performance Indicators
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To have in place a funding system which is based on needs and
resources.
Improved financial management information available from local authority
accounts.
An improved financial system capable of delivering performance indicators
for the local authorities.
Timely and effective operation of the local government audit system, with
an improved emphasis on value for money.
More discretion for local authorities on staff matters.
Development of the role of elected members and closer partnership with
the community.
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A more participative local government system - establishment of Strategic
Policy Committees, progress towards integration of local development and
local government.
Modernisation of the legislative framework to support the renewal of local
government.
Key Inter-Relationships
Local authorities are the Department's key partner in the achievement of a strong
and well resourced local government system, to deliver a range of services
efficiently and effectively for the benefit of local communities. Regional
Authorities play a role in promoting co-ordination at regional level in partnership
with local authorities, this Department and others.
The Department has the lead role in relation to the proposed integration of the
local government and local development systems. In achieving this integration
the Department will be working with local authorities to develop new interfaces
with community groups and local development interests. We will also be working
in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Food, the Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Tourism, Sport and
Recreation. Others involved in this regard include the Department of the
Taoiseach, the EU Commission and the local development bodies.
The Local Government Computer Services Board is involved in modernising the
local accounting system and works in partnership with the Department and with
the audit service. The Local Government Management Services Board works in
partnership with the Department in relation to local authority human resources
policy. The Department of Finance has an overall monitoring role as regards
national policy in the area of public sector human resources.
Sector: The Environment
Policy Context
There is a broad consensus that a high quality environment is necessary to
underpin a healthy economy and for a good quality of life. This concern for the
environment has facilitated the development of a comprehensive legislative code
and the establishment of good regulatory and organisational arrangements for
the protection of the environment. Information and awareness, investment and
voluntary action have also increased. Yet environmental quality trends continue
to disimprove in several respects e.g. increasing water pollution, growing waste
production and growing greenhouse gas emissions.
It is increasingly important, therefore, in addition to traditional controls, to
intensify policies and action which will ensure that Ireland's continuing economic
growth is on an environmentally sustainable path. The Department will seek to
achieve the necessary balance between sustaining the environment and
facilitating necessary development by a range of means: implementing
mechanisms to achieve better integration, maintaining effective regulatory and
monitoring systems, providing information and increasing awareness, supporting
progressive policy development at EU/international level and developing new
participative structures at home. These will be undertaken within the framework
of An Action Programme for the Millennium which commits the Government "to
develop and implement an integrated environmental policy in partnership and
consultation with local communities".
SECTORAL GOAL To promote sustainable development by leading and co-ordinating
the adoption of appropriate balanced policies in relation to environment and
development, and to maintain proper regulatory and monitoring systems for
environmental protection.
Strategies
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Provide and maintain, having regard to An Action Programme for the
Millennium and Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, policies
and programmes and a legislative framework for the protection and, where
necessary, improvement of environmental media and the satisfactory
management of waste.
As a leading mechanism for the pursuit of sustainable development,
promote the integration of environmental considerations into other policy
areas, particularly industry, transport, energy, tourism and agriculture,
including by eco-auditing of policies.
Contribute as effectively as possible to international efforts to protect the
environment and to deal with global/regional environmental problems
particularly acidification, climate change and ozone layer depletion and
implement relevant conclusions of these processes.
Establish and service the National Environment Partnership Forum to
achieve better consultation with, and dialogue between, economic sectors,
the social partners and non-governmental organisations on key
environmental policy and sustainability issues.
Maintain effective monitoring of and information on the environment,
control of polluting substances and activities, and measures to address
the specific environmental problem of litter, through programmes
implemented by the Department, the Environmental Protection Agency,
local authorities and, in appropriate circumstances, the private sector.
Performance Indicators 5
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Progress in the implementation of Sustainable Development: A Strategy
for Ireland.
Improved arrangements for public participation and consultation on
environmental policy.
Progress in relation to targets set out in the Operational Programme for
Environmental Services.
Elimination, as far as possible, of serious pollution and reversal and
minimisation of slight and moderate pollution of rivers and lakes.
Compliance with statutory water quality objectives.
Progress towards achievement of indicative objective of limiting growth in
greenhouse gas emissions (measured on a Global Warming Potential
Basis) by 2010 to 15% above the 1990 level.
30% reduction in SO2 emissions below 1980 levels by 2000.
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Progress in meeting other international obligations on air quality and
emissions.
Extent of application of smoke control regulations.
Stabilisation of municipal waste levels generally at 350 kg/year per capita
by 1999 and, in the longer term, to 2010, to reduce these wastes by 20%.
Diversion of 20% of municipal waste from landfill to recycling.
27% of packaging waste to be recycled by 2001.
Progress in reducing reliance on landfill for final disposal and development
of alternative options.
Key Inter-Relationships
The environment is not a self-contained sector. Environmental policies depend
for their success on the adoption of supporting policies by other sectors, better to
internalise environmental considerations. The leading target sectors are industry,
agriculture, energy, transport and tourism. Other important interfaces include
forestry, marine resources and trade.
It is not practicable for the Department of the Environment and Local
Government to identify in detail the complementary policies which other sectors
should pursue in relation to the environment. This task properly rests with
external Departments themselves, subject to leadership and guidance from the
Department of the Environment and Local Government on broad principles.
Internalisation of environmental considerations by other Departments will chiefly
be facilitated by the structures and mechanisms identified in Sustainable
Development: A Strategy for Ireland.
The Environmental Protection Agency is a key partner of the Department in
working to protect and improve the quality of the environment.
There is a significant international dimension to our work in relation to the
environment as was outlined in our analysis of inter-relationships in Part Two.
5
The performance indicators included here are designed to illustrate progress in strategy
implementation. A work programme towards the definition of sustainable development indicators,
outlined in Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, is being developed on a phased
basis, with the preparation by EPA in 1998 of a series of national environmental quality indicators.
Sector: Road Transportation and Safety
Policy Context
The Government is committed to an integrated and sustainable transport policy.
Within this framework, An Action Programme for the Millennium commits the
Government to improving and maintaining the road network. Key priorities set out
in the Action Programme include accelerating the upgrading of national primary
and secondary routes, increased funding for regional and county roads and
action to ease traffic congestion. It is also Government policy to encourage
private investment in national transport infrastructure and to intensify and better
co-ordinate action in relation to road safety.
Road transportation also requires, for public interest reasons, a significant range
of interventions and controls. The Department is responsible for policy and
legislation in relation to road traffic and parking, vehicle standards and testing
and driver licensing and testing.
A further major concern of the Department is to work to secure the optimum level
of EU financial assistance for roads and its effective deployment along identified
economic corridors and otherwise: this applies both to the current framework of
EU assistance and to funding in the period after 1999.
SECTORAL GOAL To provide, within the framework of a balanced, integrated
and sustainable transport policy, for the safe and efficient movement of persons
and goods by road.
Strategies
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Promote, oversee and assist the implementation through the National
Roads Authority and local authorities of a programme for the improvement
and maintenance of national roads.
Support local authorities in developing and implementing targeted
programmes for the improvement and maintenance of non-national roads.
Act as lead Department for implementation of the Operational Programme
for Transport 1994-99 and co-ordinate the transport input to the next
National Development Plan/post-1999 funding.
Promote fuller integration of sustainable development considerations into
road policy generally.
Monitor and oversee the work of the Dublin Transportation Office in
relation to implementation of the DTI Strategy and alleviation of traffic
congestion in Dublin.
Develop and oversee implementation of a national strategy to improve
safety on the public road network.
Arrange for the provision of an effective roadworthiness testing system for
vehicles.
Administer a fair and efficient driver testing system.
Performance Indicators
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Progress in relation to targets set out in the Transport Operational
Programme.
Progress (in terms of physical completion) in relation to the 10-year NonNational Roads Restoration Programme.
Successful roads and co-ordinated transport input to next National
Development Plan/post-1999 funding.
Progress with Public/Private Partnerships in relation to roads.
Progress with Review of DTI Strategy.
Completion of National Road Safety Strategy and progress in realising
targets to be set in the Strategy.
Establishment and operation of private car testing system.
Length of time between receipt of properly-completed driving test
application and the date for a test offered to an applicant.
Key Inter-Relationships
The National Roads Authority, the Dublin Transportation Office and the National
Safety Council are key partners of the Department in the work to achieve the
above sectoral goal.
The Department, as the lead Department for the Transport Operational
Programme, requires good partnership and working relations with the
Departments of Public Enterprise, Marine and Natural Resources, and Finance
and with the European Commission. The relationship with the Department of
Finance and the European Commission is given added importance by the
funding provided for roads by the Cohesion Fund, by community initiatives such
as INTERREG II (Border and Maritime) and the Special Support Programme for
Peace and Reconciliation and by the Exchequer.
The Department works closely with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law
Reform on issues such as traffic management and enforcement, road safety, and
policy in relation to driver licensing.
Sector: Housing
Policy Context
The provision of decent housing for all has long been a central aim of public
policy and was given expression most recently in the Plan for Social Housing
(1991), Social Housing - The Way Ahead (1995) and An Action Programme for
the Millennium. The general strategy for realising this aim is that those who can
afford to do so should provide housing for themselves with the aid of the fiscal
incentives available and that those unable to do so from their own resources
have access to social housing or to income support to secure and retain private
housing. An Action Programme for the Millennium states that the Government
"are committed to the deeply held ideal of so many Irish people - home
ownership. We believe, and our policies reflect, our commitment to providing a
suitable standard of accommodation for all our people." Recent trends in house
prices present a threat to the affordability of home ownership for some who
aspire to it. Consultants have been appointed to examine the factors underlying
the recent increases in house prices, particularly in the Dublin region, and
affordability for marginal house purchasers is a key issue being examined in the
study.
Policies for an appropriate response to social housing needs entail continuation
of the local authority and voluntary housing programmes and more effective
implementation of other social housing measures. A significant increase in
resources for social housing generally has been made available and greater
attention is being paid to special needs such as those of the homeless, travellers
and the disabled. Other priorities are the refurbishment and improvement of
existing inadequate housing, particularly for low income households, rundown
local authority estates and to meet special needs such as those of disabled or
elderly persons.
SECTORAL GOAL To enable every household to have available an affordable
dwelling of good quality, suited to its needs, in a good environment and, as far as
possible, at the tenure of its choice.
Strategies
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Oversee and maintain an appropriate and sustainable national housing
programme and an efficient housing market.
Facilitate home ownership for the greatest possible number of those
households who desire and can afford it through an appropriate range of
fiscal and other measures.
Develop and support a responsive, diverse and well managed social
housing sector for those who cannot afford suitable accommodation from
their own resources.
Develop and maintain a framework for an efficient private rented sector as
an essential part of the housing system.
Develop and support appropriate measures to secure the conservation
and improvement of the housing stock, both public and private, with
particular emphasis on the needs of low income households and rundown
local authority estates.
Performance Indicators
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Trends and level of housing completions and prices.
Trends in the stock of owner occupied, private rented and social housing.
First time purchasers' new house grants: numbers paid and percentage
paid within eight weeks of valid claim.
Extent of social housing provision for households in need.
Extent and composition of the local authority housing programme.
Trends in social housing needs (assessments of need for local authority
housing and of homelessness, traveller households on the roadside etc).
Local authorities' performance in the management of their housing stock.
Operation by local authorities of regulatory regime for private rented
sector.
Condition of the housing stock as revealed in national house condition
surveys.
Numbers of houses improved under Remedial Works Scheme, bathrooms
sub-programme, Task Force for the Elderly, Disabled Persons and
Essential Repairs Grants, improvements-in-lieu, etc.
Key Inter-Relationships
The Department liaises with the Department of Finance in relation to the taxation
treatment of housing including mortgage interest relief, stamp duty on housing
transactions etc, with the Central Bank in relation to mortgage finance and with
the Central Statistics Office in relation to population and housing statistics.
We are involved with the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs in
relation to income supports for housing through the Supplementary Welfare
Allowance Scheme and in relation to social inclusion, and with the Department of
Health and Children in relation to care and support for special category needs
such as elderly or disabled people. We work with the Department of Justice,
Equality and Law Reform in relation to general issues regarding travellers,
landlord and tenant matters and asylum seekers and refugees.
The Department has responsibility for overseeing the operations of the National
Building Agency, the Housing Finance Agency and the Rent Tribunal and works
closely with these specialised bodies.
Sector: Planning and Urban Renewal
Policy Context
The planning and development system exists to facilitate development within
sustainable patterns of settlement and transportation. Equally, it aims to foster
the environment and amenities (including the natural and built heritage) and
promote the efficient use of land and infrastructure. It is a vital tool in achieving
sustainable development and it must be seen to operate in a fair and open
manner. The physical planning system is directly operated by the local authorities
and An Bord Pleanála. The Department's role is to provide the essential
legislative framework and policy guidance while seeking to minimise the
regulatory burden and cost of the system. Urban Renewal policies complement
the planning system and provide financial and other incentives to underpin
planning policies such as reversing urban decay, maintaining the vitality of town
centres and reducing the pressures for suburban development. The general
thrust of the Department's work in the planning area over the next two years or
so is dictated by the commitments in An Action Programme for the Millennium,
Partnership 2000 and Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland.
SECTORAL GOAL: To ensure that development is planned in accordance with
principles of sustainability, facilitates long term economic and social progress,
promotes the efficient use of land, resources and infrastructure and safeguards
the natural and built environment.
Strategies
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Maintain an up-to-date legislative framework to facilitate an efficient,
effective and balanced planning system that is transparent and accessible
in its operation.
Provide planning guidance to local authorities and other interests
especially in relation to development plans and matters of national
significance.
Secure a greater strategic and regional dimension to development
planning.
Maintain and develop, in co-operation with relevant Departments,
agencies and local authorities, well focused and integrated urban renewal
programmes aimed at the economic and social regeneration of run down
urban areas.
Ensure, in co-operation with local authorities, the efficient implementation
of the urban and village renewal sub-programme of the Operational
Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development and the urban and
rural regeneration measures under the EU Programme for Peace and
Reconciliation.
Promote, by organising and developing the Tidy Towns competition, the
enhancement of the environment in towns through increased community
participation.
Performance Indicators
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The effectiveness and efficiency of decision-making on planning
applications dealt with by planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála.
Development plans that are up-to-date and produced in accordance with
best practice.
Enactment and implementation of legislation on the protection of
architectural heritage.
Enactment of amending legislation following completion of review of
Planning Acts and enactment of new consolidated Planning Act.
Strategic regional planning guidance for the Greater Dublin Area and other
regions as appropriate.
Extent to which objectives of urban renewal programmes are achieved,
including the performance of Temple Bar Properties Ltd and the Dublin
Docklands Development Authority.
Achievement of specific targets set under EU Programmes relating to
urban, village and rural renewal/regeneration.
Impact of Tidy Towns competition as evidenced by the progressive
improvement of towns and villages, the number of entries and the media
coverage.
Key Inter-Relationships
The Department works closely with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht
and the Islands, in relation to the protection of the built and natural heritage
including areas of environmental and archaeological importance.
The Department liaises with Temple Bar Properties and Dublin Docklands
Development Authority in relation to the implementation of the urban renewal
programme in the areas covered by those bodies. The Department also has
regular contact with the Department of Finance in relation to the provision of
financial incentives for, and the impact of, the programme.
The Department also has close ongoing contacts with the Department of
Tourism, Sport and Recreation, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Employment and with Area Development Management in relation to the
Operational Programme for Local, Urban and Rural Development.
Sector: Construction Industry
Policy Context
The construction industry is a very important part of the Irish economy. It
employs some 140,000 people directly or indirectly - one in ten of the total at
work. The value of output is expected to reach about £8 billion in 1998 equivalent to one-sixth of GNP. It delivers the physical infrastructure and
buildings which are essential to the functioning and growth of the economy and
social development and its activities have a major impact on the environment.
The Minister for the Environment and Local Government has general
responsibility for the construction industry at Government (although specific
aspects fall within the remits of other Ministers e.g. taxation, site safety). The
Department's main concerns are to ensure that the industry operates efficiently
and competitively, that there is a strategy for its modernisation and future
development and that it is regulated in a way that promotes best standards,
encourages up-to-date technology, protects the consumer and facilitates the
future sustainable development of the industry. The Department is anxious to
assist the industry in planning future capacity to meet the demands of the
growing economy. The Department must constantly strive to achieve the correct
balance between three roles - its role in relation to the development of the
industry, its role as a regulator and its role as a client through the programmes
for capital investment in housing, roads and water services.
The Department's overall approach is based on consultation and consensus
while promoting the fullest possible flow of information among all segments of the
industry.
SECTORAL GOAL To support the orderly development of, and good practice in,
the construction sector.
Strategies
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Co-ordinate and facilitate implementation of the recommendations of the
Report of the Strategic Review Committee (SRC) on the Construction
Industry Building Our Future Together (June, 1997).
Provide information on performance, prospects and developments in the
construction industry; and assess any emerging factors affecting the
capacity of the industry and building costs or prices.
Ensure a modern, sustainable building control system incorporating
harmonised European construction product standards, when adopted by
the EU.
Facilitate maximum flow of information and liaison between all interests
within the industry, especially through participation in the Forum for the
Construction Industry and contact with the Construction Industry Council.
Performance Indicators
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Annual end-year progress report of the Forum for the Construction
Industry on implementation of the SRC Report's recommendations.
Annual mid-year review and outlook report on the construction industry.
Periodic updates of the national Building Regulations and the related
Technical Guidance Documents, in consultation with the Building
Regulations Advisory Body.
Local authority building control enforcement.
Key Inter-Relationships
The Department works closely with the Department of Finance in relation to the
impact of capital expenditure programmes on the construction industry. It also
assists that Department in the development and implementation of policies on
tender and contract arrangements for public construction work.
The Department has regular contact with the Department of Enterprise, Trade
and Employment, and the Health and Safety Authority in relation to achieving
proper standards of safety on construction sites. The Department has further
contact with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as well as
FÁS, in relation to the need to maintain an adequate skill base for the
construction industry.
The Department works closely with the National Standards Authority of Ireland
and the Irish Agrement Board in the development (at European level) and
implementation of construction product standards and certification.
Sector: Water Services
Policy Context
The Department, through its annual Water Services Investment Programme,
provides capital funding from both the Exchequer and EU sources, for water and
waste water infrastructure for local authorities who are charged with the direct
responsibility for providing water and sewerage services to the consumer. The
Department has a responsibility to guide the general operation of such services
in order to promote effectiveness, efficiency and proper customer standards. This
includes ensuring compliance with EU standards, the employment of the most up
to date technologies and skilled staff and the promotion of innovation. Even
though investment since 1994 has been somewhat ahead of the levels in the
National Development Plan 1994-1999, further increased levels of capital
investment up to 2005 and beyond will be required to move towards compliance
with the EU Directives on drinking water and urban waste water treatment.
Accordingly, the Department have a strong input into Ireland's case for
substantial EU funding for infrastructure post 1999 and will be participating in the
exploration of new funding mechanisms.
The Water Services Programme must relate closely to the planning system in
ensuring that there is an adequate supply of serviced land available for
development. A special three year fund has been put in place to increase the
supply of development land for housing. A programme to improve the quality of
rural water supplies is being developed and funded and the Department is
promoting a partnership approach between local authorities and the voluntary
group sector in implementing the programme.
The programme has a major impact on water quality issues which are also
encompassed in the Sectoral Goal relating to the Environment.
SECTORAL GOAL To secure the provision of the water and waste water
services necessary for environmental and for economic and regional
development purposes.
Strategies
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Implement through the local authorities an investment programme to
improve water services infrastructure generally and, where appropriate,
water quality on a catchment basis.
Implement through the local authorities an investment programme to
improve rural water infrastructure, to subsidise the operation of private
group schemes and to assist in providing individual supplies.
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Implement, through the local authorities and with the aid of the National
Rural Water Monitoring Committee, a three year investment programme
for the provision of serviced land to support residential development.
Keep under review the environmental and economic requirements for
investment and the prioritisation of schemes.
Implement, through the local authorities and with the aid of the National
Rural Water Monitoring Committee, a system of sub-programmes in
relation to innovative methods of water conservation and waste water
collection and treatment.
Promote better design, planning and management of schemes, improve
training of water services personnel and extend the monitoring of
performance on scheme and river/lake catchment basis.
Performance Indicators
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Adequacy of supply of water for domestic consumption and economic
development.
Reduction of levels of water wastage.
Progress towards compliance with the Drinking Water Directive
(80/778/EEC).
Progress towards compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment
Directive (91/271/EEC).
Incidence of pollution caused by discharges from waste water treatment
plants.
Adequacy of supply of serviced land.
Evaluation of innovative sub-programmes.
Number of personnel trained.
Key Inter-Relationships
The Department works closely with the Department of Finance and the European
Commission in relation to the funding and impact of the services provided
through the Cohesion Fund, Structural Funds (Operational Programme for
Environmental Services 1994-1999 and INTERREG II Initiative) and the
Exchequer.
The Department maintains close contact with the Department of the Marine and
Natural Resources in relation to foreshore licensing of proposed waste water
treatment plants.
The Department works closely with the Environmental Protection Agency in
relation to the monitoring of the quality of drinking water and waste water and
with Teagasc in relation to nutrient management and sludge disposal.
Sector: Electoral System
Policy Context
The Department is responsible for the maintenance of franchise and electoral
systems at national and local levels. It is therefore concerned, firstly, with
ensuring that the arrangements for the registration of electors, review of
constituencies and electoral areas and the conduct of elections and referenda
operate satisfactorily. Secondly, it is concerned with the ongoing development of
electoral law. The need for legislative change arises in many ways, including
policy reviews by the Government, rulings of the courts and the ongoing process
of updating and consolidation. An Action Programme for the Millennium includes
a commitment to review the electoral system.
SECTORAL GOAL To maintain satisfactory franchise and electoral systems at
the local and national levels.
Strategies
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Enactment and implementation of legislation.
Arrange for the publication of a discussion document as the basis for
informed public debate on the Dáil electoral system.
Review of electoral areas at national and local level by the Constituency
Commission and the Local Electoral Boundary Committees.
Ensure that local authorities and returning officers have comprehensive
guidance on their responsibilities in relation to elections and referenda.
Disseminate public information to promote understanding of the electoral
system and to encourage registration.
Secure improvements to the Register of Electors.
Performance Indicators
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Legislation enacted.
Satisfaction with accuracy of Register of Electors.
Efficient operation of arrangements and procedures at elections and
referenda.
Extent of public debate on the Dáil electoral system.
Key Inter-Relationships
The Department works closely with the Public Offices Commission and its parent
Department, the Department of Finance, in relation to legislation relating to the
electoral system in general. For example, the Public Offices Commission has a
number of functions arising from our legislation on political funding, while we
liaise with the Department of Finance in relation to its work on public ethics
legislation.
In organising the conduct of referenda the Department liaises with the sponsoring
Department in each case.
The Register of Electors and the various supplements to it are prepared by the
local authorities, while local responsibility for the conduct of elections rests with
returning officers who are independent in the performance of their functions
under various legislative codes. In both these areas, the Department's role is to
monitor the operation of the functions, provide advice and guidance and sponsor
legislative amendments when necessary.
Sector: Protective and Amenity Services
Policy Context
The local authorities provide a wide range of community, amenity and cultural
services as well as services to protect public health and safety and respond to
emergency situations. Certain of these services, such as the fire services,
emergency planning, libraries and the arts have a national dimension requiring
more active participation by the Department. This involves legislation, where
necessary, financial and other support, the issue of guidelines and standards and
general monitoring of the services provided.
SECTORAL GOAL To promote and support the provision of a range of
protective, amenity and regulatory services by local authorities.
Strategies
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Support fire authorities in the development and maintenance of a quality
firefighting and rescue service.
Support fire authorities in their fire safety and fire prevention programmes
and generally support the promotion of fire safety awareness among the
public.
Support local authorities, within the national framework for emergency
response, in their planning for and response to major emergencies.
Support local authority initiatives on libraries, archives and the arts.
Carry out a review of public library policy with particular reference to the
needs of the Information Society.
Complete the updating of the legislative framework for dog control.
Performance Indicators
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Numbers of grant-aided fire stations vehicles and other emergency
provisions.
Effective regionally-based moblisiation and communications system.
Range and quality of guidance material issued in relation to fire services
and emergency planning matters.
Range, quality and attendance levels at training courses developed and
provided for fire service officers through the aegis of the Fire Services
Council.
Range and quality of codes of practice issued to guide proprietors of
various types of premises in respect of fire safety and related concerns.
Extent of development and improvement in, and usage of, the public
library service.
Key Inter-Relationships
The Department chairs an advisory Inter-Departmental Committee on the
response to major emergencies, working with the Department of Health and
Children, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the
Department of Defence.
In developing guidance material and codes of practices relating to fire prevention
and safety, we liaise with various Departments who have responsibilities related
to the area in question - for example, the Department of Health and Children in
relation to pre-school services. We also liaise with the Health and Safety
Authority.
We liaise with a number of other Departments and agencies in relation to public
libraries, archives and the arts, including the Department of Arts, Heritage,
Gaeltacht and the Islands, the Department of Education and the Arts Council.
Internal Change Programme
In our earlier analysis of the Department's strengths and weaknesses, we
acknowledged the need for internal change to improve our capability to achieve
the various goals set out above. Our change programme is, of course, given
context by the wider programme of civil service reform under the Strategic
Management Initiative and the principles set out in Chapter 10 of Partnership
2000 but it is also shaped by our analysis of our own requirements. The
Management Advisory Committee is committed to implementing the programme
below.
Human Resources Management
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The development of a customised human resources management strategy
for the Department, taking account of the recommendations emerging
from the civil service-wide review of the potential for change in this area.
Introduction of a structured performance management system, being
developed for the civil service as a whole, which will integrate business
plans with the setting of individual and team programmes and targets and
identify the competencies which are required to deliver these.
Delegation of responsibilities to the appropriate level, not only in terms of
the formal requirements of the Public Service Management Act but also as
a general principle throughout the Department.
Strengthening of the training and management development function. The
budget is being increased by almost 50% in 1998 and will be further
increased in subsequent years in the light of ongoing assessment of
needs.
Increased staff mobility across Divisions to broaden experience and
perspectives.
Information and Communications Technology
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Increased resources and training to support and develop our ICT systems.
Development and early implementation of an ICT strategy on foot of the
consultancy study which is underway.
Financial Management
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An enhanced financial management system.
A full programme of expenditure reviews to identify the extent to which the
objectives of expenditure programmes are being met and to provide a
basis for reordering priorities.
Internal Communication
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Support for initiatives, such as workshops and fora, to increase crossDepartmental awareness and input to the development of corporate
policies.
Improvements in the flow of regular information on the Department's
activities to all staff.
PART FOUR
Implementation
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The Business Planning Process
Critical Success Factors
Our Partner Bodies
Monitoring and Review
The Business Planning Process
The Department of the Environment and Local Government is a relatively large
one, and, as the preceding pages have shown, its functions span a very wide
range of sectors and activities. Thus, while the sectoral goals in Part Three draw
together the current major concerns, it is necessary to go both beyond and
beneath them in developing business plans which will adequately reflect the
totality of the Department's work.
The need to go beyond them arises because, in identifying goals to be achieved
over a specific period, Part Three cannot adequately convey the extent to which
much of the work of the Department's staff is of an ongoing nature and related to
the general support of the Minister and of the Department's functions rather than
to any single specific goal.
For example, a significant part of the Department's work involves supporting the
Minister and the Ministers of State, particularly in relation to their parliamentary
duties. The Department's business gives rise to a very large volume of
parliamentary questions, adjournment debates and, to a growing extent,
discussions at Oireachtas Committees. Ministers must also deal with a very
heavy workload of public engagements, meetings, representations and other
correspondence. All of these Ministerial duties in turn require a high level of
support work, both on the part of the staff assigned to the Minister's offices and
those in the Sections dealing with the issues involved. In most cases, this
support work must be given priority over other work on hand because of the
deadlines to which Ministers are required to adhere in carrying out parliamentary
business.
Further examples of work which is not reflected in the sectoral goals include
running the Department's own accounts system, maintaining its premises and
equipment, servicing the many international organisations to which we have
commitments of various kinds and handling liaison with the media.
The need to go beneath the goals as presented in Part Three arises because of
the scale and complexity of the work underlying them. For a typical area of work,
a small number of staff may be involved in developing and reviewing the
underlying policy, preparing legislation and meeting with the various other
agencies with a role in the area. Usually, however, there will be a much larger
number of staff engaged in implementing the detail of the policy - processing
applications, responding to enquiries, carrying out inspections or driving tests
and so on. Success or failure in achieving our goals will depend on the combined
efforts of the staff concerned, but goals pitched at the higher level may not seem
immediately relevant to everyone working at the more detailed level.
The business planning process provides the essential links between the
Department's overall strategy and the day-to-day work of each member of the
staff. It was formalised throughout the Department as part of the development of
the 1996 Operational Strategy and, by encompassing all aspects of each
Section's work, achieves the requirement of going both beyond and beneath the
sectoral goals.
The process requires each Section to prepare a work programme which details
the operational targets which flow both from the relevant sectoral goals and from
the ongoing responsibilities of the Section, so that each staff member can see his
or her role, targets and contribution to the achievement of these goals. The staff
in each Section must be involved in the preparation of their programme. They
must also be involved in a regular process of review and updating of the
programme, since changing circumstances result in changing priorities. This
participative process, in keeping with the principles set out in Partnership 2000 in
relation to modernising the public service, is important in ensuring that there is
widespread ownership within the Department of the development and
implementation of the action programmes necessary to achieve our goals.
A further development adding to the emphasis on this process is the
performance management system which is about to be introduced throughout the
civil service and which will integrate these work programmes with the setting of
individual and team programmes and targets.
This business planning process is now being reinforced on foot of the
development of this Statement of Strategy. All Sections in the Department are
required to operate on the basis of work programmes of the type described
above and these are being reviewed to ensure that they reflect the priorities set
out in this Statement of Strategy.
We recognised in our internal analysis in Part Two that prioritisation would have
to play a greater and more explicit role in the management of the Department in
the future and that this would require the ongoing redeployment of staff, budgets
and support services to priority areas. This in turn calls for us continually to
question whether other areas of our work are still sufficiently relevant and
important to justify the resources being applied to them. It also demands that we
examine whether some tasks would more appropriately be carried out by the
local authorities or our other partner bodies and that we make the greatest use
possible of supports available to our staff, including technology and external
inputs such as consultants and co-operation with relevant outside interests.
Particular attention needs to be paid to the support of our professional/technical
staff since, given the specialist nature of their work, the scope to address
pressures in priority areas through redeployment is very limited.
The operation of the business planning process described above will help
management at Section level, in the first instance, to identify what action needs
to be taken, the extent to which it can be achieved by reordering priorities within
the Section and the scope for alternative approaches to dealing with the work. It
will also provide the Management Advisory Committee, in consultation with the
Minister, with a firmer basis for prioritising on a cross-Divisional basis and making
the consequent reallocations of resources.
Critical Success Factors
A number of factors, both internal and external, will play a major part in
determining the extent to which the goals set out in this Statement are achieved.
An open, positive and supportive approach from the management and staff of the
Department, its agencies and local authorities is a prerequisite for the successful
implementation of the Strategy. This will call for renewed commitment, a
willingness to enter positively into new approaches and work arrangements and
an appreciation of the increased emphasis on customer needs. While all involved
have a role to play there is a particular onus on senior management to lead the
internal change programme set out in Part Three, to direct resources in support
of the objectives set, to eliminate or reduce activities not directed at the
achievement of these objectives, to maintain and improve the morale and
motivation of staff and to deal effectively with performance issues including
under-performance.
The Department is the largest single provider of finance for public capital
investment supporting infrastructural development for economic and public good.
Major advances have been made in recent years as a result of significant EU
financial transfers and Exchequer buoyancy. Nevertheless there are increased
demands for the rapid elimination of remaining deficiencies in our infrastructural
fabric and to provide for future economic growth. These demands have grown at
a time when the level of future EU financial transfers will be under review in the
context of the Commission's Agenda 2000 proposals and there is an increased
constraint on Exchequer funding in the context of EMU. The capacity of the
Department to retain existing financial support and develop new financing
mechanisms will be a crucial determinant of progress in its infrastructural
programmes in the years ahead.
Public interest in environmental issues has grown very considerably in recent
years leading to movement at the international level to agreements towards
progressive reductions in polluting activities. As these initiatives develop there
will be progressively greater pressure for change in practices in economic activity
and in lifestyles. The willingness of all members of our society to demonstrate
their shared responsibility by making the necessary changes in their own
activities to reduce energy consumption, the use of other finite resources and the
generation of waste will have a critical bearing on the extent to which real
progress is made in the environmental area. The public also have a shared
responsibility with us in relation to our objectives in other areas - for example, we
need to harness their support for and co-operation with our efforts to increase
road safety and reduce traffic congestion.
Government policy is directed at providing a greater role for local government
and at securing a greater integration of local government and local development.
This will require support and co-operation from Government Departments and
agencies in moving towards a renewed local government system. It will also
require a willingness by local authorities to engage better with local communities.
Without this advance at both levels the prospects for a vibrant and positive local
government system will be significantly diminished.
Our Partner Bodies
The Department is the focus at central government level for over a hundred
directly-elected local authorities, of which the primary units are the 34 county and
city authorities. In addition, seventeen State agencies, listed at Appendix 3,
operate under the aegis of the Department.
Significant steps have already been taken to extend the strategic management
process to local authorities with the larger authorities asked to prepare strategy
statements following the publication of the Department's Operational Strategy in
1996. Steps have also been taken to foster a greater emphasis on quality in local
services with the holding of a major convention on this issue and to promote a
more customer-focused approach to service provision including the development
of one-stop shops. The reform and renewal of the local government system now
proposed offers a unique opportunity to integrate the strategic approach in the
new system and this will inform the Department's approach.
The State agencies under the Department's aegis vary considerably in size,
functions and budget and the potential to exploit the strategic management
approach varies considerably between the agencies. A number of the larger
agencies have well-developed strategic planning functions while the smaller
bodies can be linked to the Department's own strategic approach. Following the
publication of this Statement of Strategy the Chief Executives of the agencies will
be invited to discuss the application of the strategic management approach to
their bodies with the objective of having the SMI approach fully extended to them
within a twelve month period.
Monitoring and Review
The publication of this Statement of Strategy is simply one stage in the
Department's ongoing process of strategic management. It reflects the demands,
challenges and priorities that confront us at present and a realistic, albeit
ambitious, assessment of what is achievable over the next three years.
It is certain that new demands and challenges will constantly arise, not all of
which can be anticipated, and that priorities will change as a result. It is also
inevitable that there will be changes in the external environment or within the
organisation itself which may help or hinder the Department's ability to achieve its
goals.
The Department's strategic management process therefore also involves ongoing
monitoring and review. This is an integral part of the business planning process
at Section level and of the strategic planning role of the Management Advisory
Committee. This process of monitoring and review will provide a basis for
decisions at each of these levels, as appropriate, on the redeployment of
resources and the reordering of priorities.
Work will also continue on the development and refinement of performance
indicators.
The Department will henceforth publish an Annual Report which will set out its
progress in implementing the Statement of Strategy. It will deal with factors which
have arisen since the publication of the Statement and will set out the measures
which have been adopted in response.
Appendix 1: The Process Followed in Preparing the Statement
The Secretary General has the statutory responsibility for the preparation of the
Statement of Strategy. He has been supported in this by the Management
Advisory Committee and a cross-Divisional Liaison Group. However, it has been
regarded as essential that staff at all levels in the Department be involved in the
preparatory work in order to benefit from their insights and experience and
encourage ownership of the goals and support for the changes to be
implemented in the Department and so that each person can better identify his or
her role and contribution to the successful implementation of the Strategy.
Such a process is not new to the Department; the concept of staff participation in
the development and review of Section work programmes is now well
established.
Following initial work by the MAC and the Liaison Group, a discussion document
was circulated to all staff. This set out a proposed structure for the Statement and
included a preliminary presentation of underlying and sectoral goals. As the
Department has around 800 staff in various locations, it was decided that the
most effective way to manage the participative process was to hold workshops
for senior officers who would in turn organise group discussions with their own
staff at Section level. The workshops, held in December 1997, involved Principal
Officers, Assistant Principal Officers and the equivalents to these grades among
the Department's professional/technical staff. The value of these workshops was
particularly enhanced by their cross-Divisional and cross-disciplinary nature. The
Sectional group discussions, following on from these workshops, took place in
January 1998. In the case of certain staff where group discussions would have
presented serious logistical difficulties, discussions were held with representative
groups. In addition, all staff were informed that the Liaison Group would accept
written comments from anyone wishing to send them.
This process was designed to give all staff members an opportunity to influence
the overall content and thrust of the Statement and the comments received were
fed back to the Liaison Group and the MAC. In addition, staff in general have
also been involved, over a longer period, in building up the Section work
programmes which underpin the sectoral goals identified in the Statement.
Finally, there has been a further process of consultation with staff in the course of
the finalisation of the drafting of the Statement.
The process was also assisted by the participation of an external consultant in
the workshops and in the MAC's consideration of the draft document.
Appendix 2: Structure of Department
The Department is organised in six Divisions, each in turn containing a number of
Sections reflecting the different aspects of the brief of each Division. Each
Division is headed by an Assistant Secretary who, with the Secretary General
and the Legal Adviser, are members of the Management Advisory Committee.
This Committee has a particular role in strategic planning, policy co-ordination
and personnel/organisation matters. In addition, the Local Government Audit
Service is a constituent part of the Department.
Local Government Division
Development and Planning Division
Sections: Local Government Policy
Local Government Personnel
Local Government Finance
Sections: Planning
Urban and Village Developments
Construction
Water Services
Environment Division
Corporate Services Division
Sections: Environment Policy
Environment
International/Awareness
Waste Management
Water Quality
Air/Climate
ENFO
Sections: Departmental Personnel and
Management Development
Departmental Finance and
Accounts
Departmental ICT/Organisation
Franchise
Fire Services
Local Services
Roads Division
Local Government Audit Service
Sections: Road Policy
Road Works
Vehicle Control
Driver Control
Traffic Control
Housing Division
Sections: Housing Policy and Finance
Housing Construction
Housing Grants
Housing Rents and Tenure
Traveller Accomodation
Appendix 3: Semi-State Bodies
Seventeen semi-state bodies operate under the aegis of the Department of the
Environment and Local Government. Those marked with an asterisk in the list
below are regarded as commercial bodies and must as a general rule operate
without subvention. The remaining non-commercial bodies are financed in most
cases through the Department.
Quasi-judicial/Regulatory
An Bord Pleanála
Rent Tribunal
Environmental Protection Agency
Medical Bureau of Road Safety
Advisory/Promotional
National Safety Council
Building Regulations Advisory Body
An Chomhairle Leabharlanna
Developmental
Dublin Docklands Development Authority*
Dublin Transportation Office
Temple Bar Properties*
Temple Bar Renewal
National Building Agency*
National Roads Authority
Services for Local Government
Local Government Computer Services Board
Local Government Management Services Board
Fire Services Council
Housing Finance Agency*